The Gay TurboTax Ad – The Boater Home, The Location, and Loud Sharks…

TurboTax goes underwater for their latest tax commercial featuring a gay couple. Oh no, honey baby, this isn’t their first homo-rodeo. They’ve been working the tax runway for ages, queen! A tax commercial airing last January showed a clip of a gay wedding and a year later these tax gurus still have their finger on the pulse of what’s legal (taxes) and naughty (gay stuff).

Dude, Where’s My Boat? I don’t know if we can call the two guys in the commercial dudes; Would they want to be called dudes or is that too fratty? Either way, these men are not just gay. They’re also dumb. Can I say that? I know LGBTQ+ people are untouchable but I promise I’m not a homophobe for saying these gents are a few Bud Lights short of a 6-pack and it’s completely unrelated to their gayness. See if you can catch their stupidity in the ad below called “Boater Home”…

Young, Dumb, and Broke. I like the title “Boater Home” although I would’ve called it a “Floater Home,” but clever titles aside, a home like this is one of the dumbest ideas for these first-time owners. Their happiness is about to be as underwater as they are. Say hi to the Titanic for us, will ya? Adding to their dumbness, a dolphin squeaks and Andre asks Doug, “Was that a shark?” The answer: “Yes.” This is dumb for a couple of reasons. One, the location of this home is unlikely to have sharks, or dolphins for that matter (see The Location below). Secondly, even a toddler knows what a dolphin sounds like and sharks don’t make noise. Hello, didn’t Doug and Andre watch Free Willy!? Oh wait, that was a whale. Haven’t they seen The Meg!? Shoot, that was a megalodon. Anyway, gay people everywhere should be offended that Turbotax thinks they could possibly be this dumb.

The Location. Did you know these kinds of floating homes are a real thing? I didn’t either until this commercial. The ad was shot on the Fraser River in the Vancouver area of Canada. Check out the location on Google Maps and in the screen grabs below.

Doug and Andre are pretty much up a creek without a paddle. Can you imagine watching them try to get to shore from their floating home? Talk about entertaining! I’d love to see a follow-up to this ad with the pair panicking as they try to start a boat motor. Especially with all the squeaky sharks swimming around.

-Out of the Wilderness

Calvin Klein Commercial – Jeremy Allen White Undresses; The Music, and More

Besides knowing it’s not me, I have no idea which men women find attractive and why. I even watched Barbie and suffered through the 2-minute-long monologue bashing men and I still don’t think I’m any better than I was before I wasted a whole night watching the movie (Read: I Watched Barbie So You Don’t Have To)! Since the dawn of mankind, men are always in trouble for objectifying women so I guess now it’s the ladies’ turn in 2024. Enter the Calvin Klein commercial featuring the latest heartthrob to undress on camera.

No, it’s not Derek Zoolander although he can sure rock the Blue Steel look. Jeremy Allen White, who stars in “The Bear” and probably other shows I haven’t seen before, is front and center as the star of the most recent Calvin Klein commercial. He’s next in line behind a few other big names (other men objectified in commercials?) sporting the briefs. Before Jeremy strutted down the streets of NYC for this ad, there was Michael B. Jordan, Jung Kook, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Here are the ads from those guys, then scroll down for more info about Jeremy’s commercial…

First up is Michael B. Jordan.

Here’s Jung Kook.

Followed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

And here’s the ad with Jeremy Allen White along with a clip from the set.

The Music. The soundtrack to this ad is a song from the 1960s. It’s called “You Don’t Own Me” and it’s by Lesley Gore. This was somewhat of a feminist anthem, and it was her second highest charting song behind “It’s My Party.”

The most recent successful cover of “You Don’t Own Me” is by Grace featuring G-Eazy.

I’d be a fool not to include one of my favorite mashups, if you can call it that. It’s the amazingly talented Secret Sisters performing their dark hit “You Don’t Own Me Anymore” with a nod to “You Don’t Own Me.” Listen especially around the 2:55 mark and if you don’t get chills, go back to the planet you came from!

So what we have here is a women-empowerment taken over by white men. Got it. I’m sure that type of appropriation will just be water under the bridge because after all, it’s the star of a popular show (and he’s attractive, I guess?). Kind of like a guy that texts a woman too much. If he’s ugly, it’s stalking. If he’s Jeremy Allen White, it’s flattering.

-Out of the Wilderness

The Apple Vision Pro Commercial – The Music, and More!

If you want to be more isolated than ever before, Apple’s introducing the Vision Pro (available Jan. 19th). Your apps, movies, Facetimes, all in one place plus the ability to record movies and take pictures in a 3D space. But wait there’s more! Not only can you be secluded in your cocoon, you can also be broke. That’s right… for a low, low price of $3,500 you can take ignoring people to a whole new level. Or you can be like this dad who I’m sure didn’t embarrass his daughters at all by wearing the headset in a public park. Great video recording dad!

Basically, imagine your phone taped to your face (because the only thing better than staring at our phones all day is having them EVEN CLOSER TO OUR EYE BALLS!). Here’s the new commercial bound to become an SNL skit soon…

The Music. The song in the commercial is “Uncontrollable Urge” by Devo from 2006. This commercial makes me have an uncontrollable urge to watch a Vision Pro headset get smashed in one of those compactors that smooshes cars into small little cubes. Know what I’m talking about?

Here’s the full track…

Gettin’ Frosty. I want to change the great line from How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days– “Women of New York, frost yourselves!” where the lady on the street yells back, “Hey, frost this!”– to “People of the world, isolate yourselves!” Then someone yells back, “Isolate this!” This commercial has me feeling all frosty and not in the way Matthew McConaughey suggests in the movie.

I can think of so many other things I’d do with $3,500. First on the list would be a new Trek road bike. I love the one I have but if we’re just throwing money around, why not get something less dumb than a Vision Pro, ya know?

Unless you want to look like this woman.

That’s right. When your roommate or family wants to talk to you, you don’t even have to take the headset off for them to see how annoyed you are. It’s like wearing headphones on a plane to avoid talking to people, but it’s on your face. Spoiler alert, people are going to talk to you anyway.

The only thing I’ll be putting on my face anytime soon are my Blenders Rainwalker© shades, thankuverymuch.

-Out of the Wilderness

Hard Rock Bet is Legal in Florida – The Commercial, the Jingle, and More!

It’s a new jingle that’s bound to be one the best/worst of the year. Best… because it’s actually pretty catchy. Worst… because I have a feeling it’s going to get waaayyyyy overplayed. Especially with the NFL playoffs coming up. But already, I’ve caught myself singing it and if you live in Florida, I’m guessing you’ve heard it a lot, too. Here’s the ad then scroll down for more!

Location. The ad was filmed in Pompano Beach, Florida. There are two locations I picked out. One is Annie’s Hair and Nails at 3408 E Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach, FL.

Also Briny Irish Pub in the same area.

I like the High School Musical vibe in the commercial. I bet it was fun to be on set as a crew member, actor, or extra. Here’s a behind the scenes video featuring the jib camera getting that last shot of the crowd.

And here’s one of Hard Rock’s slick promos…

Hard Rock’s website has this to say about the ad: The campaign for ‘Florida’s Sportsbook’ was filmed with local Florida-based actors along with members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and was shot in Pompano Beach and directed by Jason Koenig in partnership with Anonymous Content. 

Jason Koenig has quite a resume. Take a look at his video work on his website JKOEPHOTO.COM and be sure to follow him on Instagram, proving he’s quite a photographer, too!

-Out of the Wilderness

The Frito Lay NFL Playoffs Commercial Music and More!

We’re going to the ‘ship! We’re going to the ‘ship!

Well, actually none of the NFL teams making the playoffs can claim they’re going to the Super Bowl quite yet but the first round matches have been set up for this weekend. Some are bound for the playoffs and others are bound for layoffs! See what I did there? Coaches getting “downsized” and players getting fired or moving to different teams. I’m sure it’ll be a busy off-season but for those who still have their eyes on the prize, Frito-Lay gives us, the fans, a glimpse into what it feels like to win the Super Bowl. Take a look then scroll down for more info…

All I Do Is Win… All playoff teams can do is win if they want the ring, otherwise they’ll get a one way ticket home with Beck as their theme song “I’m a loser baby….” But the familiar song in the commercial is from 2010. It’s DJ Khaled “All I Do Is Win.” Here’s the full track…

This song is pretty much forever etched in my memory from Emma Stone’s epic Lip Sync Battle from “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

While we’re here, also check out her rendition of Blues Traveler’s “Hook,” she is phenomenal. Jimmy had no chance.

The Grocery Store. One scene from the ad is in the parking lot of a town’s grocery store. Looks like a Trader Joe’s or a fancy Publix, but as far as I can tell there’s no such thing as Ahrendsen’s Fresh Market.

It’s my best guess that they put up a sign with the last name of one of the senior marketers within the Frito-Lay company, a guy named Kyle Ahrendsen.

Did your team make the playoffs? One of the most interesting games is happening pretty much first thing… Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins. Can the ‘phins oust Mahomes, Kelce, and all the Swifties out there? If so, the Taylor Swift curse rumors will be a-swirlin’!

-Out of the Wilderness